A Guide to the Jared Holt Shoe Wax Company Collection

Collection Summary Collection Title: Jared Holt Shoe Wax Company Collection

Call Number: MG 215

Creator:

Inclusive Dates: 1834-1989

Bulk Dates: 1918-1938

Abstract: Jared Holt opened his leather store in Albany, New York, in 1834.

Quantity: 1 box, 1 Oversize box (2 total)

Administrative Information Custodial History:

Preferred Citation: Jared Holt Company Collection, MG 215. Albany Institute of History & Art Library, New York.

Acquisition Information: Accession #: LIB.2007.111.007 Accession Date: 2007

Processing Information: Processed by Robbilee Luedtke; completed February 9, 2011.

Restrictions Restrictions on Access: None Restrictions on Use: Permission to publish material must be obtained in writing prior to publication from the Chief Librarian & Archivist, Albany Institute of History & Art, 125 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12210.

Index Term Persons Barber, Adam “Bud” Hamilton, Marion S. Brown, Frank S. Hinckel, Ethel Hamilton Connell, Jim Holt, Jared Cook, Glen S. Lawton, Gene Driscoll, Edward A. Payne, Charles H. Germann, Frank C. Payne, Dr. Charles Orlando Goldston, Bob Shear, Beverly Goldston, Josephine Vanderburgh, Mabel Payne Greene, Shirley M. Vanderburgh, Roy Greene, Waldo E.

Organizations Artist – Frank S. Brown – Elsmere – New York Candle Making Supplies – Pourette – Seattle – Washington Commercial Photography – Edward A. Driscoll – Albany – New York Commercial Photography – Glen S. Cook – Albany – New York Emhart Corporation – Hartford – Connecticut Newspapers – Capital District Business Review – Albany – New York Newspapers – Schenectady Gazette – Schenectady – New York Newspapers – Sunday Record – Troy – New York Newspapers – Times Union – Albany – New York Savage Brothers Company Candy Machinery and Copper Work – Chicago – Illinois Shoe Companies – Bass Shoe Companies – Dexter Shoe Companies – Endicott Johnson Shoe Companies – Florsheim Shoe Companies – Frye Boot Shoe Companies – Little Falls Footwear Co. Shoe Companies – Red Wing Shoe Companies – United Shoe Corporation Sports – Bendix Corp Sports – Major League Sports – National Football League Sports – Rawling Sporting Goods Sports – Manufacturing Co. Wax Manufacturer – Jared Holt Company – Albany – New York Wax Manufacturer – Jared Holt Div. of PCI Group Inc. – Albany – New York Wax Manufacturer – JHC Industries Inc. – Albany – New York Subjects Wax Manufacturing Company

Places

Document Types Catalogs Ledgers Newspapers Photographs

Biography/History of In 1834, Jared Holt operated a leather store at 48 Hudson Avenue, Albany, NY. While conducting this leather business, Jared Holt conceived the idea of making up a kettleful of wax as an accommodation to nearby cordwainers. In those days, shoemakers made their own wax as they needed it, using a variety of raw materials. It was a very crude method, and the results obtained were not often very satisfactory. When neighboring shoemakers discovered that Jared Holt’s wax was particularly suited to their needs, they began to demand it more and more, and as a result, a brand new business was founded. Jared Holt then decided to make wax to sell to the shoemakers. The work was done in a little shed attached to the rear of his leather store on Hudson Avenue. He kept at the boiling point a kettle of tallow, resin and other components, and when a shoemaker called for leather or other supplies, he would usually place an order for wax. To accommodate such a customer, Jared would set out a dipperful of the wax to cool. By the time the customer had completed his leather purchases, the wax would be ready for him to take away. Soon after, Holt acquired a larger place on Hamilton Street, and from this location he began to solicit business from localities outside of the Albany district. As the enterprise grew, he decided to give up the leather business and concentrate entirely on the manufacture and sale of wax. At this time, Jared hired his first employee, a man who was instructed to make regular rounds of the shoe shops with a wheelbarrow. This man became the first wax salesman, carrying his product right to the workbench of his customers. The company then moved to 107 Broad Street in Albany around 1884-1885. In 1959, the business was housed in a modern brick factory equipped with all the latest machinery and equipment for the speedy and efficient manufacture of high-grade waxes. By 1934, the company had successfully passed through the financial disturbances of an entire century with its ownership still held intact by the immediate descendants of its founder. Members of the direct line have been the active of the company since its inception. In 1934, Marion S. Hamilton, granddaughter of Jared Holt, was president and her daughter, Ethel Hamilton Hinkel, was vice president. Both owners lived in San Diego, California. In 1959, Frank C. Germann had worked for the company for forty-two years. At the age of 25, he became general manager. During his time as manager, he rebuilt the factory and also implemented new orderly procedures for producing wax. The process of wax making proceeds step-by-step, in an orderly and efficient manner from the raw materials to the finished product. Assembled in the raw-stock room of the plant were gums from the pine trees of the South, beeswax from Africa, Japan wax from Japan, Montan wax from Germany, Carnauba wax from South America, and paraffin wax from the United States. These and other ingredients were selected as required, and melted, mixed, clarified, tempered, emulsified, cut, and packed for shipment within the space of thirty minutes. Jared Holt was the first to develop a formula for making stitching wax with consistency. In 1985, Wally Greene became the company’s seventh owner, purchasing the firm from his former employer, Emhart Corp. of Hartford, Connecticut. By 1988, JHC Industries was thought to be the only company left in the country that still manufactured stitching wax. When the shoe industry began to wane, JHC Industries found new outlets for its stitching wax. JHC Industries’ stitching wax held the following items together: cowboy boots, work boots, men’s shoes, ballet shoes, pocketbooks, wallets, and horse saddles. It also held together nearly every football thrown in the National Football League and nearly every baseball tossed by a major league pitcher. The company also produced a wide variety of wax-based products: candles, polishes, waxes to coat hunters’ traps, floor waxes, used in crystal grinding, as an adhesive to hold together slate slabs for billiard tables, used by gravestone rubbers, in battery mounts for nuclear submarines, and anything else a customer might ask for. They made 80-90 different products, most of which were custom made. Greene had a full time chemist on staff constantly working to develop new uses for the JHC waxes. Shortly before March of 1992, the company was sold to C.S. Pierce Cos of Brockton, Massachusetts. Apparently none of the company’s debt went with the transaction, and JHC Industries was forced to declare bankruptcy and went out of business. In 1999, the dilapidated factory building was demolished due to ground contamination and being deemed a public health hazard.

Scope and Contents of the Collection This collection deals with the Jared Holt Company that manufactured shoe wax and various other wax products during its 150-year history. Also contained are some photographs and papers belonging to the last owner, the Greene family.

Separated Materials

In Curatorial:

Accession # 2007.11.007 7 Metal Templates for labeling boxes/cans: Black; Brown; Summer; Winter; Medium; From The Hared Holt Co. Albany, NY, USA; 25 LBS Holt’s Lily White Stitching Wax 1 LB. Cakes.

Large pair of scissors Large pair of snips Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Series # [MG 215] . Series Title [Jared Holt Shoe Wax Company Collection]

Box # Folder # Item #. Title / Description 1 1 History of the Company, leaflets printed by company for 100yr anniversary and 125yr anniversary; 1 1 Newspaper articles referencing the history and future of the company. 1 2 Price Lists 1 2 Mixing instructions in manila envelope 1 3 Advertisement proofs, photographs and printed material 1 4 Advertisement mockups, photographs and painted material 1 5 Greene Family photographs and letters 1 5 Intaglio Reproduction of Etching by Rudolf Voit, “Munchen” 1 6 Newspaper Advertisements 1 7 Financial Statement, September 30, 1985 1 8 Savage Brothers Company, Candy Machinery and Copper Work Merchandise Catalog 1 Binder of Business Addresses (blue) 1 Molds In Stock (red) Binder with candle making supplies ordering information and purchase order information. 2 Ledger 1917 through 1923 2 Ledger Dec 1st, 1933 (on spine) through June 1937 2 Day Book Jan 1918 through Dec 1919 2 Day Book Jan (?) 1919 through Dec 1921